


It Isn't Light Waiting at the End of this Tunnel

by Larkawolfgirl



Series: Dare to Write Challenge [21]
Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, F/F, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 13:53:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18053741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larkawolfgirl/pseuds/Larkawolfgirl
Summary: Ellie might be young, but she knows better than to hope for the impossible.





	It Isn't Light Waiting at the End of this Tunnel

**Author's Note:**

> For the Dare to Write Challenge prompt: pipe dream
> 
> As short as Left Behind is, I have no excuse for not fact checking aside from laziness.

There isn’t much to hope for anymore--not even much to like anymore. Everyone is trapped and controlled. There is little to go around, especially hope. It’s pretty much a fact that the human race is doomed, even if no one ever says it aloud. Sure, the Fireflies are fighting tooth and nail against all odds to oppose that fate, but what is even the point? What could they possibly do? Ellie might be young, but she knows better than to hope for the impossible. It’s better to face reality and the shitwhole life has become. It’s fine; she’s used to it. It isn’t like she has ever known anything different. 

Riley sings a different tone. Ellie isn’t sure if she is blind, stupid, or just optimistic, but she believes wholeheartly in the Fireflies. She whispers their rumours even when she could have her tongue cut out if the wrong person overheard. Well, they probably wouldn’t go that far, but Ellie doesn’t want to find out. 

Riley is a dreamer. She talks about escaping town so that no one can tell them what to do any longer. And sure, that sounds peachy, but then what? They would be out in the open. A few hours of freedom before becoming clicker food. No thanks. And yet, when she looks at the grin on Riley’s face and mischeif in her eyes, she almost wishes they could. 

Ellie vowed to take life in stride and not let herself fall victim to hoping for  _ anything _ , but Riley has that effect on her, with her pretty words and her prettier face. Ellie’s mind will drift off sometimes when listening to her. It will focus in on her freckles and and length of her eyelashes. Before she knows it, her fingers will itch to touch her face, and Ellie will have to shake her head to clear it. “Sorry, I zoned out. What were you saying?”

Riley always snorts and pushes at her shoulder. “Doof. I should start calling you airhead since you apparently have more empty air than brains up there.”

“Hey!” 

And Riley smiles that pretty smile of hers, and Ellie lets her call her whatever she likes after that. 

Ellie never wanted to hope, but after Riley, it is hopeless. Riley is a beacon of light in the darkness, leading her who-knows-where, but it has to be somewhere better. 

It really shouldn’t surprise her when Riley chooses to join the Fireflies over staying with her. The Fireflies are hope while Ellie is diluted pesimism. Her decision has no right to hurt like it does. So what if her best friend has decided to follow what she believes is right? In the end, Ellie has always known she is alone. It is simple fact. 

Of course, Riley won’t have that, though. She has to go and give her a perfect day at the abandoned mall. She has to be her friend and make her long for more. She has to snort in laughter and call her names. She has to smile prettily and kick her ass in every challenge. She has to make her heart pound and her breath catch. 

“Don’t go,” she finally lets herself say.

Riley looks at her for a long time. Then she takes hold of the Firefly pendant she wears and tears it off. The meaning of the gesture is self-explanatory, and for the first time in her life, Ellie lets hope well in her chest. Maybe life doesn’t have to be a shithole. Maybe she can have a best friend, or something more. Maybe together they can actually be happy. 

Slowly, Ellie leans in. Riley has plenty of time to move back if she wishes, but she doesn’t. Instead her lips wait hers and easily react to the kiss. 

There is a smile on Ellie’s face when she pulls back. “What do we do now?”

Riley takes her hand. “We’ll figure it out.”

But then one of them gets in. Then another. The memory is a blur. They should have died, but somehow they take them out. Afterward, they sit against the wall, hand in hand. They are both tired, eyes nearly closed, as stupid as falling asleep here would be. 

“We’ll figure it out,” Ellie breaks the silence, echoing Riley’s words. When she doesn’t respond, she turns to look at the downturn of her lips. “What’s wrong?”

Without a word, she lifts her arm to show a long scratch. They both known what that means. All the hope she had felt for that brief moment turns to ash in her mouth. She looks down, only now noticing that she has a similar scratch on her own arm. With a bitter smile, she shows off her own death sentence. 

“At least we can be together in the end, right?”

Riley squeezes at her hand. “Yeah, I guess. It’s better than going alone, at least.”

They hold hands and wait, sharing a couple more kisses before the end comes. 

Except, for Ellie it isn’t the end. Only the end of a naive pipe dream.


End file.
